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View Full Version : All-American trio for Corvette Racing in Austin WEC race



bigbadbrother
08-09-2014, 07:52 PM
Tony DiZinno

Corvette Racing’s pulling a same-day double at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas next month, on Sept. 20.

After the two usual lineups in the team’s pair of Corvette C7.Rs for the morning’s TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race (Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia in the No. 3, Tommy Milner/Oliver Gavin in the No. 4), Milner and the Taylor brothers will share another C7.R for the six-hour FIA World Endurance Championship race later Saturday night.

Milner, Jordan and Ricky Taylor will be in the car as Corvette Racing makes its first FIA WEC appearance in a race outside the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Konica Minolta and Michelin will co-sponsor the entry.

Here’s your driver quotes:

TOMMY MILNER

“Doing two races on the same weekend will be somewhat difficult. It will be made a little easier by going to and from essentially the same car. But I’m definitely looking forward to the challenge. It will be fun to have Ricky and Jordan in the car with us. Jordan obviously has time in the Corvette C7.R from Le Mans, and Ricky has time from last year at Le Mans in the C6.R. For Jordan, I’m sure driving the car in a full downforce spec will be quite a bit different than what he experienced at Le Mans. We’ll be helping them get going early on with lots of bouncing back and forth. It’s a challenge but I’m looking forward to it.

“It’s a great opportunity for the three of us to compete in this race for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing. I obviously know Jordan and Ricky pretty well. While the three of us will do everything we can do win in the WEC, our primary focus will be on the TUDOR Championship. We each are contending for championships in our respective classes, so doing what we can to score maximum points there is our primary focus.”

JORDAN TAYLOR

“This is an amazing opportunity. To be racing a Corvette in the FIA World Endurance Championship on American soil, with an all-American lineup… it couldn’t be any cooler. It will be my first time racing in the WEC, other than doing Le Mans the past few years, so it’s going to be a bit of a different feel racing in more of a sprint race format. We’ll be representing America on a world stage. I can’t wait.

“We’re obviously racing for the championship in the TUDOR race, so we’ll have to keep an eye on our main competitors to try and maximize our points. The WEC race is a one-off for us. We have nothing to lose, so we’ll be there with one goal – to win. It’s two different mentalities; both have their challenges.”

RICKY TAYLOR

“It is a very important weekend for us on many levels. For me it will be my first opportunity to drive for Corvette Racing and my first time in GTE Pro. I am really looking forward to getting to know the team and working with everyone on a race weekend. With three American drivers in an American marque, we have a really special opportunity here.

“We plan to sit in the car at Road America to figure out if we need to make a new seat. Jordan has been great; he keeps saying how much the car has improved and that I will be just fine in the car. Most of the learning will come after the first free practice when we are able to compare data and I have an idea of what the car does.”